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The latest AJ focuses on landscape and public realm with studies of John Puttick Associates’ Preston Bus Station refurb, new buildings for Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre by Reed Watts and the mighty reworking of London Bridge station by Grimshaw to a masterplan by tp bennett. In News, Will Hurst asks whether the Garden Bridge trustees could be personally liable for the losses accrued by the scrapped ...

Bookies laughing all the way to bank after Newport Street Stirling win

The winning scheme, a row of listed industrial buildings in south London converted into a free public gallery for artist Damien Hirst, was announced at a ceremony in London last night.

The gallery was consistently an outsider with punters after its place on the shortlist was announced in July. Its final odds were 5/1.

A spokesman for bookmaker William Hill told the AJ: ’There was hardly a bet on the winner. It must be the biggest surprise in recent history. We can probably afford to buy a Damien Hirst with our winnings.’

It is understood the judges were torn between the shortlisted schemes, with a three-to-two split between the Caruso St John-designed gallery and Herzog & de Meuron’s Blavatnik School of Government.

William Hill said it saw a late flurry of bets on the latter, leading it to cut the odds it was offering from 7/2 to 5/2.

The bookmaker also admitted it would have lost money if the Blavatnik School of Government had picked up the prize.

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The AJ supports the architecture industry on a daily basiswith in-depth news analysis, insight into issues that are affecting the industry, comprehensive building studies with technical details and drawings, client profiles, competition updates as well as letting you know who’s won what and why.